A Shock of Political Acumen for Qian Renxue

"Why is that, Xiao Kai?" Upon hearing Ye Kai say this, Qian Renxue raised her hand like a student in class and asked her question.

And Ye Kai was naturally the teacher—albeit a rather young one.

"Because we don't have enough people," Ye Kai explained patiently.

"If a Soul Master doesn't devote all their energy to cultivation, it'll be very difficult for them to achieve any truly great heights."

"And anyone capable of becoming a Soul Master, unless their innate talent is insufficient, will want to pursue greater heights. They also naturally find it hard to take an interest in other matters that consume their time."

"On top of that, high-level Soul Masters possess extremely powerful combat strength. Without an opponent of the same rank, a Soul Douluo or Titled Douluo could wipe out an entire city alone without much trouble."

"So officials and Soul Masters are practically professions that inherently conflict with one another."

"And Spirit Hall has always been committed to discovering talented commoners. Those geniuses who rose from humble beginnings will devote even more energy to cultivation, so that they may bring glory to their ancestors."

"If Xue'er Jie doesn't begin cultivating people now, then once unification truly comes, affairs across the entire continent will pile up with no one to handle them."

After hearing Ye Kai's explanation, Qian Renxue continued, "Then why can't we simply use the existing personnel?"

"Setting loyalty aside for now, the administrators in the two great empires and the remaining duchies and kingdoms are basically nobles or members of certain clans. There's no need to concern ourselves with those small clans—they wouldn't dare oppose us."

"But the great and mid-sized clans may not be the same. To say nothing else, the Upper Three Sects may appear to be at peace with us now, but don't they still claim that the Upper Three Sects stand united and share honor and disgrace, joining forces to oppose Spirit Hall?"

"Moreover, most people within Spirit Hall come from commoner backgrounds, so they naturally have conflicting interests with those clans. If we continue using them, then after unification, they'll commit all kinds of atrocities under Spirit Hall's banner."

"Spirit Hall's reputation among commoners is still relatively good right now precisely because those people serve as a comparison. So even if a few parasites appear, it isn't a major problem."

"But after unification, things will be completely different. Once our reputation is ruined, those clans can secretly accumulate strength and use Spirit Hall's bad name to undermine Spirit Hall's unification once more."

"Besides, how many cities are there across the vast Douluo Continent? How many people does each city need to maintain normal operations? How should a city be governed? These are all things Spirit Hall currently knows nothing about."

"So, if Xue'er Jie intends to continue undercover, you can use your status as the Grand Prince and gather commoners or abandoned heirs of clans under the pretext of preventing Spirit Hall from winning over talented commoners. Have them work for you, and they can become the backbone of your rule over the empire in the future."

At this point, Qian Renxue suddenly interjected, "Not Grand Prince. Very soon, I'll become Crown Prince."

"Xue'er Jie, are you planning to kill both the Second Prince and Third Prince?"

Qian Renxue nodded.

Ye Kai shook his head instead. Then, beneath Qian Renxue's puzzled gaze, he continued, "There's absolutely no need. As the Grand Prince, so long as you don't make any major mistakes, you naturally hold an advantage over the two of them. If you rashly eliminate them, then you will indeed become the greatest beneficiary on the surface."

"But the imperial clan has long played these games of open and hidden struggle. They'll investigate you in secret. Although the soul bone set means there's no fear of your identity being exposed, they certainly won't want someone so ruthless taking the throne either. After all, this is the Heaven Dou Empire, not the Star Luo Empire."

"Especially if Prince Xue Xing grows suspicious, Bi Lin Douluo Dugu Bo will most likely stand against you as well. Dugu Bo's strength may not be much trouble, but it would still create unnecessary complications."

"Besides, not only can you draw upon Xue Qinghe's maternal clan's influence, don't forget that Spirit Hall is standing behind you too."

Ye Kai's lengthy explanation completely bewildered Qian Renxue. It was as though a huge question mark had appeared over her head.

Seeing Qian Renxue's eyes practically spinning, Ye Kai sighed helplessly. If not for the Angel Soul Bone Set, her grasp of political scheming would have gotten her discovered by the Heaven Dou imperial clan long ago.

"For example, the Heaven Dou Empire currently has only one Titled Douluo openly known to the public: Dugu Bo. He was invited by Prince Xue Xing to serve as an imperial retainer."

"You can use Xue Qinghe's name to invite His Excellency Snake Lance to become an imperial retainer as well, just like Dugu Bo."

"You could even directly set terms with Xue Ye, saying that during one of your outings, you encountered an unaffiliated lone Titled Douluo."

"After some discussion, the other party agreed to join the Heaven Dou Empire as an imperial retainer, provided certain conditions were met. Xue Ye surely wouldn't pass up such an opportunity. Wouldn't that openly send Heaven Dou Empire resources back to Spirit Hall?"

"And as the man who brought another top-tier combatant to the Heaven Dou Empire, that enormous merit should be enough to make you Crown Prince."

"Furthermore, this would allow His Excellency Snake Lance to openly stand behind you. Anyone wishing to make a move against you would have to consider the deterrent of His Excellency Snake Lance behind you."

"Even if..." Ye Kai gestured with his eyes for Qian Renxue to pour him some water. Didn't she have any awareness at all? He'd been talking for so long—shouldn't she replenish his fluids a little?

Qian Renxue smoothly picked up the teapot from the table, poured a cup of water, and handed it to Ye Kai. Ye Kai accepted it, drank, and continued.

"Even if the two of them remain unwilling to give up the Crown Prince Position under such circumstances, His Excellency Snake Lance behind you will be an obstacle they cannot overcome."

"And in their eyes, His Excellency Snake Lance is merely a Titled Douluo you recruited using the Heaven Dou imperial family's resources. He certainly won't be completely loyal to you. Since you can recruit him with resources, they can naturally use even more resources to recruit him and have His Excellency Snake Lance betray you."

"Then they'll have to secretly draw resources from their maternal clans in an attempt to win over His Excellency Snake Lance. By yourself, you'll be consuming the resources of three parties in total—the Heaven Dou Empire and their two clans."

"This..." The question mark over Qian Renxue's head turned into an exclamation mark. She had never imagined that an undercover agent could operate so openly!

"Now, Xue'er Jie, it's time for you to make your choice. Will you continue undercover, or prepare to become a god? Of course, if you choose to remain undercover, you can't neglect your cultivation either. It can serve as a fallback if the Kingdom Usurpation Plan fails. You'll just have to work a little harder—not only handling government affairs, but also intensifying your cultivation."

After pondering for a moment, Qian Renxue made up her mind. "Since I can choose both, then I'll remain here. That way, there may be less war in the future, and fewer people will die."

Seeing that Qian Renxue had made her choice, Ye Kai continued, "Then do as you wish. However, neither His Excellency Snake Lance nor His Excellency Pufferfish is strong enough, whether in rank or combat power, to suppress Dugu Bo. Someone else should take over your protection."

"How about this? Don't concern yourself with this matter for now. When I return, I'll discuss it with Teacher and the Grand Elder. We'll transfer either His Excellency Snake Lance or His Excellency Pufferfish back, then send another elder with greater combat strength here to support you."

Since they were preparing to continue the Kingdom Usurpation Plan, they had to achieve better results than in the original story.

The Kingdom Usurpation Plan in the original story had practically been child's play. After infiltrating for twenty years, on the eve of seizing the throne, Qian Renxue actually had no force completely loyal to her apart from Spirit Hall. What a waste of all that infiltration.

In the ancient times of his previous life, had he ever seen anyone prepare to stage a coup without having at least a few forces beneath them that recognized only the person and not the emperor?

Yet when it came to Qian Renxue, the moment Xue Ye said he would pass the throne to Xue Beng, everyone immediately switched sides.

Ye Kai taught Qian Renxue a few more common political tricks that would allow her to gain the support of more officials, then prepared to return.

Unexpectedly, Qian Renxue interrupted his Teleportation. "Xiao Kai, Little Kai, we haven't seen each other in so long. Don't you miss me at all? Can't you stay with me tonight?"

A trace of pleading flashed through Qian Renxue's large, watery eyes, making her look pitiful. Thinking that she was ultimately only a twelve-year-old girl, yet already had to undertake something so dangerous, Ye Kai finally agreed to her request. Even if she were discovered, her Life would not be in danger, but such an environment was still far too heavy for a twelve-year-old girl.

"Wonderful~" Qian Renxue threw her arms around Ye Kai. The pleading in her eyes turned sly, and a faint smile curled across her lips.

"Hehe, you won't escape the palm of this young lady's hand."

"Since that's the case, I'll come over again tonight."

However, Ye Kai's next sentence froze someone's smile on her face.

"Eh, eh, eh? You're not staying here?" Qian Renxue looked utterly incredulous.

"It'd be too easy to get discovered in your palace during the day, and you have things to do too, right? You don't intend to lock me in a secret room, do you? 0.0"

Ye Kai continued matter-of-factly, "Besides, I have things to do as well."

"You have things to do too?" Qian Renxue narrowed her eyes at Ye Kai. "So you didn't come here specifically to see me?"

"Of course I came specifically to see Xue'er Jie. It was just that I'd originally planned to deal with it later. Now that I happened to come to Heaven Dou City, I thought I'd take the opportunity to see whether there was any."

This was not the time to provoke Qian Renxue, so Ye Kai hurriedly replied.

"Hmph! Then you have to come back tonight." Qian Renxue gave a delicate snort before speaking to Ye Kai.

"No problem~" After agreeing, Ye Kai teleported back to the Heaven Dou Martial Soul Saint Hall.

"If you weren't still so young, I'd have tied you up and thrown you into the secret room long ago, so that woman wouldn't have to fight me for you." Once Ye Kai had left, Qian Renxue muttered to herself in the secret room.

Judging by that, secret rooms could only be called an old Qian family tradition.

After returning to Spirit Hall, Ye Kai first took Ah Yin out of the Soul Tool and comforted her after she had suddenly been thrown inside it. Then he went to find Salas, who was already the Platinum Bishop.